Male: The trials widely seen as part of a plan by Maldives President Abdulla Yameen to tighten his grip on power ahead of elections in September, a court has convicted former president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom and the sitting Chief Justice Abdulla Saeed and Justice Ali Hameed for obstruction of justice and sentenced them to 19 months in prison.
The country of 400,000 people has seen political unrest since its first democratically elected leader, Mohamed Nasheed, was forced to quit amid a police mutiny in 2012. Nasheed was convicted of terrorism charges in 2015 and sentenced to 13 years after a trial that was criticised as unfair. Gayoom, who is the country's longest serving leader, Chief Justice Abdulla Saeed and Supreme Court Justice Ali Hameed were found guilty, after they were charged for refusing to hand over their mobile phones for a police investigation.
The Indian Ocean island chain has faced upheaval since February, when Yameen, half brother of Gayoom, imposed a 45-day state of emergency to annul a Supreme Court ruling that quashed the convictions of nine opposition leaders, including Nasheed. During the emergency, authorities arrested the three men and a Supreme Court administrator on charges of trying to overthrow the government. They still face those charges.
Saeed and Hameed refused the opportunity to make a closing argument saying their lawyers had earlier quit, citing grave procedural defects with the trial. Criminal Court Judge Hassan Najeeb refused multiple appeals by the defendants to be given time to appoint new lawyers. Najeeb said it was clear from "anonymous testimonies" that the defendants had mobile phones and refused to comply with a police investigation and requests to hand over their devices and this represented obstruction of justice.
Politically motivated: Amnesty International
The opposition has accused Yameen's government of jailing leaders who could challenge Yameen's re-election bid, a charge the government denies. Rights group Amnesty International said the convictions are politically motivated and should be quashed because the trials did not meet international standards. Athul Keshap, the US Ambassador for Maldives said in a tweet that an unfair trial with no defense witnesses or defence lawyers would always result in an unfair sentence.
Gayoom told the court he denied the charges and said the trial was unfair, while Najeeb maintained the trial was conducted in accordance with the law.
Dunya Maumoon, the daughter of Gayoom, who resigned from Yameen's government after her father was arrested, said her family was deeply shocked by the convictions.
